Leisure & Tourism sector in Mexico
Mexico is ranked 4th in the American Region and 43rd overall in the Tourism Competitiveness
Index, overtaking Costa Rica and Brazil while going up 8 places in the last two years. Mexico
gets impressive marks for its biodiversity, which is ranked 5th overall, and its natural resources,
with more than 25 000 natural heritage sites and rich fauna, being one of the few countries where
you can find all the 10 major ecosystems in the world. The country´s cultural resources are also
among the world’s best, being 10th in terms of monuments of archaeological importance, with
110 000 monuments and 33 UNESCO World Heritage Cultural sites, more than any other
country in the world
Market overview
Mexico’s main tourist regions which are:
ξ Los Cabos Baja Sur, a leader in the development of world-class golf, Bahia Banderas,
Vallarta, Puerto Peñasco, and Tijuana, which are in the northwest region bathed by the Sea
of Cortez.
ξ Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco and Yucatan, which compose the Mayan Riviera on the
Caribbean coastline.
ξ Acapulco, Cancun and Oaxaca, which are the main beach destinations in the country.
Yet amid such natural richness there are areas that require attention to develop a better tourism
environment, such as ground transport infrastructure, which includes the construction and
planning of roads with high technology equipment; a development of ICT tourism infrastructure,
with the automation of hotels, airports and car rental companies; and human resource training,
that is focused on English language education in key regions like Los Cabos, Baja Sur and the
Mayan Riviera, being these areas some in which British companies can find business
opportunities.
Besides these infrastructure needs, there are new areas for foreign investment like the long term
development of the Tourism Center of Teacapan in Sinaloa, which will be twice as big as
Cancun, with 44,200 hotel rooms amid 30 km of beaches bathed by the pacific and it is planned
to be ready by 2025.
Other areas that represent new trends of tourism investment are Mexico City, Nayarit and San
Luis Potosi, which in the first quarter of 2011 have received more than 100 million dollars in
private investment, as investors try to develop more opportunities in the business and social
tourism sectors.
Another area or relevance is golf, with over $100 billion USD worth of golf-related resort and
real estate development taking place all over Mexico in 2010, making golf one of the faster
growing and more important segments of Mexico’s tourist and real estate industries. Golf
courses in Mexico require between $700K and $2M USD a year for maintenance. This makes a
good opportunity for Golf Design & Maintenance Firms looking for potential clients in Mexico.
Golf in Mexico has a significant potential market, with more than 200,000 golf rounds being
played annually in Cabo San Lucas, which is considered Mexico´s golf capital. It attracts
millions of golfers coming from the West coast and Southeast of the US to visit play in golf
courses designed by specialists such as Jack Nicklaus. Golf’s development has been such that
Los Cabos has been classified as one of the 13 best golfing destinations worldwide and it has
strongly positioned itself in the market segment of high consumption tourism who are mainly
from the California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Colorado and New York.
Key opportunities
The Sectorial Tourism Programme 2007-2012 has, as its goal, the task of improving
competitiviness to reflect a private investment total of $20 billion USD during each presidential
term. By doing some strategic activities, Mexico will offer the following business opportunities
to British companies:
ξ New developments in Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí, Nayarit and Mexico City.
ξ More developments in Cancun and Los Cabos, keys to Mexico’s Tourist revenue.
ξ Golf course designers, developers.
ξ Hotel/Resort investors.
ξ Hospitality Technology.
ξ Specialised and Niche products related to the Hospitality Sector.
ξ Marine Leisure.
Sports and recreational products
Latest export opportunities in Leisure & Tourism
Latest export opportunities - Mexico
Getting into the market
We encourage British companies to approach well in advance the local authorities that are in
charge of projects, since very frequently the time between the launch of a tender and the required
proposal submission date is extremely short. In addition, if you are already in contact with the
local authorities you may be able to gain an insight as to what they are looking for before the
tender is advertised.
It is important to build relationships in the market, so that key local players and decision makers
will be aware of your expertise and keep you in mind when forming bidding consortia. In many
instances, UK companies choose to partner with local counterparts, benefiting from their
business know-how.
More about doing business in Mexico
Contacts
Market intelligence is critical when doing business overseas, and UKTI can provide bespoke
market research and support during overseas visits though our chargeable Overseas Market
Introduction Service (OMIS).
To commission research or for general advice about the market, get in touch with our specialists
in country - or contact your local international trade team.
Luis Calette
Trade & Investment Officer
British Trade Office
Blvd. Sanchez Taboada 10488-923
Zona Rio C.P.22010
Tijuana, Baja California
Mexico
T. +52 (664) 615 8046
Email: tijuana@ukconsulate.org
Ana Gallardo
Trade & Investment Research Officer
British Trade Office
Blvd. Sanchez Taboada 10488-923
Zona Rio C.P.22010
Tijuana, Baja California
Mexico
T. +52 (664) 615 8046
Email: agallardo@ukconsulate.org
Contact your local international trade team
Events
UKTI runs a range of events for exporters, including seminars in the UK, trade missions to
overseas markets and support for attendance at overseas trade shows.
FITA 2012
20-23 September 2012
www.fitamx.com
ExProTur Vallarta 2012
www.exprotur.com
Latest events Mexico
Latest events – Leisure & Tourism
Useful links
More about OMIS and other UKTI services for exporters